"An ugly baby is a very nasty object - and the prettiest is frightful"

Queen Victoria’s observation, “An ugly baby is a very nasty object , and the prettiest is frightful,” reflects her stark, Victorian-era frankness and reveals a complex, if not paradoxical, attitude toward infancy and beauty. Her words carry a wry skepticism toward the universal tendency to romanticize or sentimentalize babies, stripping away the societal gloss that typically surrounds the subject. By labeling even the most beautiful infants as “frightful,” she upends the idyllic imagery often associated with new life, suggesting that early childhood presents a form of beauty that is raw, unrefined, and perhaps unsettling to eyes accustomed to classical ideals of attractiveness.

Victoria’s use of the word “object” underscores a detachment, viewing babies not in terms of emotional bond, but as physical specimens to be observed and judged from a distance. There is an implicit commentary on the high standards and sometimes harsh judgments that pervade aristocratic society, even regarding something as innocent as a newborn. The dismissiveness towards cuteness or prettiness hints at a philosophical discomfort with the vulnerability, helplessness, and almost alien features that newborns often display. Babies, particularly infants, do not fit conventional standards of beauty; their proportions and behaviors are still in the process of transforming into those of recognizably human adults.

The quote can also be read as a subtle critique of both beauty standards and sentimental hypocrisy. While many are quick to praise every baby as adorable or beautiful, Victoria casts doubt on this obligatory flattery, making space for honesty over politeness. Additionally, by conflating degrees of unattractiveness between “ugly” and “prettiest,” she implies that the difference is negligible, at least to her eye, pointing to the universality of awkward beginnings before the bloom of youth. Her comment reflects both personal candor and a broader Victorian inclination to challenge platitudes with blunt realism.